Nightfur: Memories Awoken
by NinjaLayor
Summary: "The past is never gone. It just rests, awaiting to be rediscovered." Nightfur, a Lucario with fur dark as night, and the memories of the Lucario-Cyborg that shared his name, said these words to a friend of his. Since then, he's been stabbed, had buildings brought down on him, and is turning into a Glaceon. As he pushes on through this time, he reflects on his life, now, and then.
1. Beginings of Memories

**Disclamer: I have no rights to Pokemon, those belong to Nintendo and Gamefreak. This applies to all chapters of this story.**

**Bear with me, this is my first Fanfic.**

Nightfur closed his eyes, as the next wave of cold passed over him. The transformation wasn't painful this time, but the temperature difference from that of a Lucario and that of a Glaceon was so different, that he couldn't help feel cold. _ If I ever find a way to fix this, _Nightfur thought to himself, _I'll never take heating for granted... even though it doesn't seem to help me in this case._

The sound of metal thudding on metal could be heard behind him. Nightfur turned, sensing Mnementh, the strange mechanical being that he found locked in a stasis container within a portion of the tower the Lucario he was the namesake of built. Mnementh was large, longer than Nightfur was tall, and made of a strange bronze colored metal that was stronger than the metals that Nightfur worked with in his tower. Mnementh possessed the ability to alter his form, taking on any shape that he preferred, or thought would help Nightfur, such as the most common form while the two were off doing something, a thick airtight armor that acted as a second skin, to Mnementh's natural form, a large mechanical scorpion.

Nightfur slipped a pair of goggles over his eyes, the band wrapping around his head the same color as Mnementh, and the lenses missing, having instead two pale blue photoreceptors. As they flickered to life, the dark world that Nightfur has gotten used to over the course of three years faded away, to be replaced with the bright, sunlit world that everyone else saw.

"What is it, Mnementh?" Nightfur asked, shivering.

Mnementh replied in his native tongue, making all sorts of mechanical chirps, clicks, and screeches that would be impossible for most to understand. Nightfur paused, the microchip in the base of his skull placed there by Mnementh working its magic, rendering the sounds into words, phrases, sentences.

"A relic, you say?" Nightfur was curious. Mnementh never lied to him, and the prospect of examining a piece of equipment that the first Nightfur had used, one that was yet undiscovered to him, thrilled him. "All right... but only a short while... you know how terrible I feel."

Mnementh replied back. _I change forms all the time... and I don't feel terrible at all. What are you talking about?_

Nightfur laughed, smiling. "First off... you don't feel the same way that Pokemon and humans do. And second off... you're designed to do that. Well... lead the way to the relic that you found."

Mnementh moved quite fast for such a large being, and Nightfur stumbled trying to keep up, as his legs weren't functioning quite like he was used to. _Another part of the transformation_, he reasoned.

Mnementh stopped, his form altering that to a replica of Nightfur when they first met, and pushed through the door, pointing to a half dome in a corner.

Nightfur approached carefully, looking at the object before touching it. One could never be too careful with something that Nightfur developed, as most of the things he made were lethal. Nightfur was shocked with what he picked up. A part of an eggshell... an old one. Memories suddenly flooded his mind, memories of events occurring before his hatching.

Nightfur stood, and silently walked along to the elevator, taking it to his chamber, cluttered with parts of machines and tools that he had no room for on his overcrowded worktable. Nightfur curled up on his bed, located next to a tank in which the first Nightfur recharged the mechanical implants in his body. He closed his eyes, and slept deeply, the first time in days, dreaming of times long past.


	2. Birth and Brothers

**Hey, NinjaLayor here. Just a notice, for reasons, but I own the following characters: Nightfur, Mnementh, (though named after one of the dragons from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern), Shadowstorm the Absol, Ironpaw the Riolu and Lucario, ****Æ****thin the Eevee, Nightfur's Ranger friend (Don't have a name yet...) and Nightfur's parents. I do not own the following OC's: Nitro, Solar the Eevee, Vera the Pichu, DUSK the Mech-Eevee, and Getsuga, the Gallade. Those belong to my fellow Showdown Users, who are a key part of making this able to happen.**

Darkness. Nothing but darkness and the warmth of the water and other fluids around him. Suddenly, a single thought came to the young Pokemon's mind. _I'm starving... and there's nothing to eat. _He began to struggle, pushing against the walls of the space, which now seemed too small to keep him in. Suddenly, he pushed hard, and there was a crack, followed by a strange light. The young Pokemon fell out onto an alien surface, brown and soft, comfortable to lay in, short fur soaked with the contents of the now shattered egg. Two gentle voices began speaking to him, words full of kindness, yet incomprehensible. Something small was placed in front of him, and he grabbed it, and bit into it, his small teeth cutting into the soft flesh of the berry. He looked up, seeing the sky and two faces, looking down at him. They smiled, and one of them spoke, saying a something that he didn't quite understand.

"Look at his fur... like the night sky. You know what we have to name him now, don't you?"

"Yes... and I like it. Nightfur."

A week passed, and Nightfur began to speak, starting with words such as mother and father. As the days began to lengthen, Nightfur began exploring the nest, eventually finding that there was more to the world than the nest and the darkness of his egg. He began to pad over to the edge of the nest, when a paw came out of no where, grabbing his tail. He began to cry, scared of what grabbed him.

When he looked behind him, however, he saw his mother. He ran over to her side, and curled up beside her. Her gentle voice filled his ears. "You're a bit too young to be exploring outside the nest, Nightfur."

Nightfur smiled, and began to nap, dreaming of days where he could explore freely. His mother however, stood, getting out of the nest. Her mate was off visiting his brother, who also recently had a son, about Nightfur's age. He was supposed to be returning tomorrow, but she sensed his aura approaching, and was slightly alarmed.

Sorrel, as his name was, walked out of the bushes, carrying something. Myrtle's eyes were wide with alarm when she saw what Sorrel was carrying. She rushed over, taking the limp, young body, and looked over it, before she set it down in the nest beside Nightfur.

"What happened? Surely you didn't just steal your brother's son!"

"My brother... and his mate, are no more," He replied, eyes full of grief. "They were killed in their nest. Young Ironpaw managed to hide in a small cave in their den, saving his life. He's exhausted, so the rest will do him some good."

Nightfur awoke to feel the warmth of his mother beside him. He turned around to tell her that he was hungry, but when he did so, he realized that it wasn't his mother. He looked at Ironpaw, poking and prodding him, trying to figure out who and what he was.

When Nightfur saw his mother, he ran over to her. "Mother, there's someone in our nest!"

His mother crouched low, eyes full of grief and understanding. "That's your cousin, Ironpaw. He doesn't have a mother or father, so we're going to take care of him."

Nightfur looked distraught. "Can't he get a new mother and father?"

"It doesn't work that way, Nightfur. Father and I will be both of your parents, and you can be his brother."

Nightfur tilted his head, thinking for a second. He then smiled, replying, "I'mma be the best brother ever!"

**So... Let me know if you've enjoyed so far, and I'll see you with the next chapter if I get enough support!**


	3. Beginings of Trouble

Nightfur was sitting there, waiting for Ironpaw to wake up. _I hope that he doesn't do that all the time! _Nightfur thought to himself. Ironpaw yawned just then, eyes blinking open. Nightfur got in his face that split second. "Hiya! I'm Nightfur! What's your name?"

Ironpaw backed up in alarm, looking at his surroundings. When he didn't see his mother or father, he began to cry. Myrtle came in, and looked at Nightfur with a stern look. She picked up Ironpaw, and comforted him with soothing words. Ironpaw looked up at Myrtle, eyes full of sadness. He buried his face into Myrtle's chest, sobbing.

Myrtle looked at Nightfur. "Nightfur, go get one of the berries from our supply."

Nightfur grabbed a ripe, plump Pecha berry, and handed it to his mother. "Here's a berry, mother!"

Myrtle began to nudge the berry at Ironpaw. "There you go sweetie... it's alright. Eat this... It'll make you feel better." Ironpaw took the berry in his small paws, and began to eat its flesh. He looked around at the nest, then back at Myrtle.

"Is momma... and daddy..."

Myrtle interrupted him, wanting him to get off the topic of his deceased parents. "Ironpaw, why not go and play with Nightfur? I'm sure you two can play something together around the nest."

Ironpaw got down off of Myrtle's lap, and walked to the edge of the nest, where he sat, silently. Nightfur padded over to sit beside him, and looked out, hearing the rings of metal on metal, the sounds of his father's labors in the warm forge, where he melted metal and shaped it into items that others in Pokemon communities such as the famed Treasure Town, on the other side of the mountains, used for cooking, building, and if one was willing to pay enough, fighting.

"Sounds like Father's workin' in the forge. Did you ever want to do something like that? Hey?" Nightfur looked at Ironpaw, confused. _Why doesn't he answer me? I'm not going to hurt him, or bother him._ Nightfur sighed, and he turned around, going to play with the small nuts that he found in a corner of the cave that their nest was sheltered in. When Nightfur looked back at Ironpaw, he saw that he had lowered his head, looking at his feet.

Evening came, and Nightfur was a bit unhappy to share his part of the nest with Ironpaw.

"Can't we make the nest bigger so he has his own part?"

"Nightfur, just eat your food, and get ready for bed. Besides... I think the best brother in the world would share his part of the nest with his brother." Myrtle was smiling at this, as she knew that once Nightfur said something... he rarely went back on it.

Sorrel looked at Myrtle, projecting an aura of worry to her. Luckily for them, the two young Riolu were not old enough to know how to use aura, so they could communicate without worrying the youngsters. Even still, the use of aura wasn't needed. Myrtle could see the worry in his eyes. Something wasn't right.

Nightfur protested going to bed that night, saying he wasn't tired, he wanted a drink of water, so on and so forth. Ironpaw, on the other hand, or paw, in his case, fell right to sleep, facing uneasy dreams of his ordeal. Nightfur was finally settled down, and he as lay there, starting to doze off in the comfortable grasses and ferns that lined the nest, he heard his mother leave the den, along with his father. They began talking in hushed, but worried voices. Curious, Nightfur crawled out of the nest, hiding just inside the den's entrance.

"... But we can't just leave. There's no reason we should. Especially now with two children."

"Myrtle, we have to. There's rumor that those thugs that killed my brother and his mate attacked another family. Another metalworker. I'm one of the more well known metal-smiths in the area. It's only a matter of time before they come looking for me."

"Train me, then."

"Train you in what?"

"Swordplay or whatever you call fighting with those sharp metal sticks of yours. A mother protecting her young is a dangerous foe."

"Myrtle. I don't want you to."

Myrtle gave him a strong look, staring at him with her big red eyes, full of fury.

"Myrtle... fine. I'll teach you. I think that I should start teaching Nightfur the basics of the trade as well..."

"Not yet."

Nightfur got bored of the conversation at this point, and curled up in his nest, falling into the deep comfort of sleep, Ironpaw at his side. Unwittingly, his paw dropped from on his chest, gripping Ironpaw's paw. The two slept on, oblivious to the world around them.

The next morning, Nightfur woke up to see that Ironpaw was sitting on the edge of the nest again. He got up to his feet, and sat down beside him. "What's wrong? Come on, you can tell me! I won't tell anyone else!"

Ironpaw looked at him with large, sad eyes, tears on the brim. "I miss Mom and Dad... I'm scared that those big scary guys are going to come back for me."

Nightfur smiled. "Don' worry! Mother and Father gonna protect us! And I gonna protect you!" With that, Nightfur leaped onto Ironpaw, knocking him over. Ironpaw rolled with it, bringing him on top of Nightfur, sitting on his chest. They spent the rest of the morning wrestling and rough housing, neither one keeping the advantage for long.

**A/N: Well, we're at the end of another chapter. I think I'm going to try to write a better introduction to this than I currently have, mainly at the request of one of my friends, explaining the cause of the transformation. So, NinjaLayor out, and please give me feedback. I could use the reassurance that I'm writing something you want to read.**


	4. A Guest, a Friend

Mnementh watched over the sleeping Nightfur, monitoring the change while he slept. _I don't want him to be sad... he had so much he could do as what he called a Lucario, with that strange energy. _Mnementh saw a box that Nightfur had been tinkering with, in an attempt to preserve what capabilities he had with the strange energy called aura. The chemicals responsible for Nightfur's change would, for the most part, remove his capability to do so. Mnementh gave Nightfur a quick scan, and picked up the box. _Time to do my teacher a favor. I didn't protect him, and this happened._

* * *

Nightfur dusted himself off. After being knocked over into the dust on the floor of the cave for the twelfth time, he and Ironpaw were tired. "See? I said I'd protect you!"

Ironpaw smiled, despite his exhaustion. "I don't think you'd be protecting me. I think I'd be protecting you!"

Myrtle watched the exchange, smiling. It seems that those two would get along quite well. She pulled out some of the berries from the alcove where the stored food. "Boys, I have lunch for you two!"

Nightfur and Ironpaw turned their heads simultaneously. They looked back at each other, and they both said the same thing at once. "Race ya!" Nightfur managed to beat Ironpaw by the tip of his nose, and they took the berries that Nightfur's mother handed them. As they ate, the sound of metal striking metal could be heard coming from outside.

"Mother, what were you talking about last night, about learning the craft?" Nightfur asked innocently.

Myrtle's looked at Nightfur, scorn in her eyes. Nightfur's tail drooped, knowing that he was in trouble. "Nightfur, you know better than to listen to other people's conversations."

"I'm sorry, Mother."

"I know you are, Nightfur. Don't do it again."

They ate their lunch in silence after that point. Ironpaw, after eating, went and sat down at the opening of the den. Myrtle looked at the two of them, and smiled. "I think you two are ready to go outside. Just stay within the clearing. I don't want you getting lost."

Nightfur and Ironpaw looked up at Myrtle with shock. Ironpaw was the first to find his voice. "You mean that we can..."

"Yes. And hurry, before I change my mind, you two," Myrtle replied, a smile playing across her face.

Nightfur quickly turned, running out the opening to the den. "Race ya!" Ironpaw turned a second later, running hot on his heels.

"No fair! You got a head start!"

Myrtle watched the energetic boys run out into the clearing in which their den was located. She sighed, as they began exploring. A voice spoke up behind her, one that was familiar.

"They grow up quick, don't they."

Myrtle turned, fur on the back of her neck raising, when she recognized the voice, and saw who it belonged to. Sitting behind her was an Eevee, facial, chest, and front leg fur darkened as if covered in ash. There was a small pouch around his neck, and a metal disk rested in the center of his forehead. Calming herself, she smiled, glad to see an old friend. "Æthin... how'd you get in the den without me noticing?"

Æthin smiled, as a slight breeze picked up, coming from outside, blowing into the den. "You know me... there isn't any place the wind can blow that I can't get to. How's your mate doing?"

"Hold on... I'll go get him. He can tell you himself."

Myrtle went out of the den, to Sorrel's forge. "Sorrel, we have a guest. I think you want to talk to him."

Sorrel's replied, angrily. "I don't have time to visit! The billow's broken, and if I don't get it working, I'm going to have to start over on the piece I'm working on!"

Æthin calmly appeared beside him, literally out of thin air. "I can fix that, if you want. How hot do you need to get the metal?"

Sorrel jumped, as Æthin's sudden appearances often scared people and Pokemon. Sorrel looked at Æthin, shocked. "You?! I haven't seen you since I was a young Riolu!"

"Yes, it's me. Now, how hot did you want the metal?"

Sorrel just stared, before coming back to his senses. "Orange hot. What I'm doing needs it to air cool, not water cool."

Æthin began to mutter something in some strange tongue, what seemed to be the human language of Latin. "_In auræ tenuis.__"_ A gentle breeze picked up, blowing right into the fire, heating the coals to the needed temperature. "I think that solves our problems... now, weren't we going to have a talk?"

" Æthin... thank you."

"Don't mention it. I've done it many times. You two have most certianly grown up since I met you two as young Riolu."

"Speaking of age... you look like you haven't aged since I first met you, Æthin," Sorrel looked at the Eevee with a smile. "Care to share why?"

Æthin smiles, shaking his head no. "I'd like to, but then again, I don't want to. If you're still around, I'll tell you after I take on a student."

Myrtle looked at the two boys still playing in the clearing. "You don't think that one of them could..."

"Oh, no. The gift I have seems to only appear in Eevee. I'm still going through the library of books and scrolls at my place... I have yet to see any instance of the gift appearing in another species... that isn't legandary, mind you."

Sorrel looked at Æthin long and hard. "I still can't believe that you look exactly the same as you did when we first met. Wasn't that when my father had an issue with getting his forge started for the first time that year? The year with all that snow?"

Æthin tilted his head, thinking. "You know... I think you're right. Didn't I joke about finding a rock outside the den, and how it was so cold I could evolve into a Glaceon just by looking at it?"

Myrtle nodded. "I remember that story. Speaking of stories... have you heard about Sorrel's brother?"

Æthin's voice took on a sad note. "Unfortionately, I have. I feel sorry for young Ironpaw... though I think he's got the best foster mother and father in the world." He smiled for a second, before his voice became serious. "But his family isn't the only one. Across the continent, there have been cases of metalsmiths and their families being killed... all of them true. Pokemon are turning their back on the practice of shaping metal, it seems. 'Too human', they claim. It looks like, pardon the pun, that being a smithy is a dying trade."

Myrtle looked at Æthin, eyes wide in disbelief. "But... thats... no. There must be some mistake."

"I'm sorry, Turtle, but there's no mistake." Æthin tried lightening up the mood, using his nickname for Myrtle, which came about after she lost a race to the Eevee.

"Æthin... I hate to do this," Sorrel began, "but I want to... no, need to ask you a favor. Could you keep your eyes on Nightfur and Ironpaw, incase anything..." Sorrel doesn't finish the statement, not wanting to say it.

"I'd be honored to watch the children of my closest friends." Æthin stood up, streaching out his body. "Now... I think it's time I got to know the two of them."

**A/N: Well. Tension is rising. ****Gravity Hurts**** (+1 respect if you can guess what that's from) I have to say, I'm enjoying writing this. I think I'm going to need some characters for later though. So here's the plan. The first 5 registered users (sorry guests... but the account is free. So get one.) to provide a review with an OC w/ a moveset will manage to land a spot in one of the upcoming chapters. Personality will be useful... though I have a feeling that anger is going to be the feeling that you'll see. So, NinjaLayor out, and I'll see you with the next chapter!  
**

**Update: At the request of a fellow PS user, I have removed any mention of him... even if it was minimal.**


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